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Thu, 29 Oct 2026

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 'Painful' years ahead, think tanks warn, as living standards set to fall

Budget forecasts show growth in living standards grinding almost to a halt.

* Living standards in the UK are set to grind almost to a halt over the next few years
* Working-age households will see their disposable income fall by £1,050 (3%) between now and 2029
* The current decade is expected to be the worst for household income growth on record
* Chancellor John Healey's Budget offered "breathing space", but experts say it does not go far enough to address cost of living pressures
* Higher energy bills, inflation, and borrowing costs are causing financial difficulties in the UK
* Think tanks warn that households will be left paying higher energy bills than during the last energy crisis in 2022
* The Resolution Foundation says support should have been more targeted at the poorest households
* The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts a slowdown in GDP growth and an increase in inflation
* Experts emphasize the difficulties in economic forecasting due to uncertainty over inflation
* The OBR's forecast indicates that living standards for all households will barely grow by less than 0.1% per year by the end of the decade
* Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) director Helen Miller says the outlook is "depressing" and that no amount of temporary cost of living packages can fix the issue.